K

I’ve figured a way out of my head and have embarked on some new work where I’m exploring both a new way of applying paint to the canvas and also I am now completely obsessing about new subject matter.  And it feels energising and wonderful.

It would be fair to say I’ve been grappling with a new direction for a couple of years now and it came to me after I was asked to work on a commission piece -using a colour palette that was completely foreign to me. What this did was force me out of my tried and tested method and made me think about paint application in a new way.

Oddly enough I tried a new series of brushes to work with and this inspired me to work with a renewed focus on blending and composition.

Creativity and break throughs come and go – never when expected – but are always welcome

K x

To be honest it’s hard to avoid this searching question. Over the years I’ve been painting it’s become too easy to get caught up with the chatter….”how many did you sell?” and ‘how much money did you make?”

This is the most common question I hear when I’m asked about my art. People can, and many have, become fixated on what the $$ value is of my art. As if it’s a measure of success. I completely understand that for most people they might not really understand art and why artists do what they do – so this is the ‘go-to’ question. I guess my challenge is to let this attachment to $ float through and not become something that drives me into a direction in my work that feels wrong and doesn’t feel authentic. I’ve found that chasing $ will never lead to beautiful, original and authentic work.

My art is about me and my thoughts and my take on the world. This is what satisfies my soul and allows me a voice – one that I would never express verbally.

Please view and enjoy my work knowing it’s about the world through my eyes, it’s my take on things – it’s not driven by the $ and it’s not driven by anything other the thoughts floating through my mind.

K

We are working on a ‘shop window’ entry for the World of WearableArt retail competition.  The pre-requisites for this competition are that the window display must include the colour red in large quantities and also the display must represent the sole purpose of the business – so in this case it is art.

Our idea is wacky and not easy to replicate but it’s fun and has created a few challenges.

I won’t give the game away before we present the window but I will say that I have been creating 30 mini works and Ami has been doing the same.  In many ways smaller pieces are more challenging because of the amount of creative thought that needs to go into how it will all piece together.  With a large piece it’s all amount overall composition, texture, colour and materials – working within a confined boundary.  With small works it’s more difficult to see the end result and to work towards that finish line.

This week the pieces I’ve been working on will head into the gallery and this will give my family their dining room table back!

Our window will be revealed later in September and it’s going to be amazing to see it all come together.

Artrium Gallery is just across the road from the Ale House.  Have a squiz at some time.

K

Wellington art co-operative, ARTrove, is sponsoring a medical student this summer after raising more than $3,000 for the Surgical Research Trust at its 2013 exhibition opening night.

The artwork of 14 talented Wellington artists was for sale at the opening night fundraiser with a portion of each sale going to the Trust.

The $3100 raised will form the new ARTrove Studentship and help a student at the Otago School of Medicine, Wellington to study ‘ECGs and clinical outcomes following acute coronary syndromes’ this summer.

Through its sponsors, the Surgical Research Trust funds three or four studentships every summer in Wellington. The ARTrove team joins other Wellington-based sponsors (phil&ted’s, the Museum Art Hotel and Ideas Shop) in fostering young research talent in this way.

ARTrove was started in 2011 by three Wellington artists, Adele Eagleson, Karen Hamilton-Smith and Kirsty Fyfe, who are all passionate about creativity and about sharing affordable art with the public.

Karen Hamilton-Smith said the group was delighted about sponsoring a medical student.

“It’s wonderful that we’re able to support vital research into heart conditions, which affect a huge percentage of our population and touch many families. We love the fact that through people buying art, others in the future may benefit from heart research.”

Trust chair Prof. Geoffrey Horne said the Trust was extremely grateful to ARTrove for using its opening night as a fundraiser.

“In terms of value for money, studentships are fantastic value for the research dollar. Often the research gets written up in international peer-reviewed journals and the young researchers go on to undertake further important research.”

The Surgical Research Trust was set up in 1991 by Prof Horne (ONZM) to fund local and national surgical research and since then has funded about 90 projects. The Summer Student Research Programme began in 1992.

The ARTrove 2013 exhibiting artists were Adele Eagleson, Amie McCarron, Anna Stichbury, Brian Nelson, Bruce Luxford, Clare Matthews,  Ian Hamlin, Karen Hamilton-Smith, Karina Rossiter, Kirsty Fyfe, Kylie Law, Maude Heath, Nicki Stewart and Paul Vincent.

www.artrove.co.nz

It’s an extraordinary story of Herbert Vogel, a postal clerk, and his wife Dorothy Vogel, a librarian, who managed to build one of the most important  contemporary art collections in history on a very modest income.  In New York in the early 1960′s little interest was shown to Minimalist and Conceptual Art and it was at this time that Herb and Dorothy began buying the works of ‘unknown’  artists.  Living on Dorothy’s librarian pay packet and devoting all of Herb’s salary to purchase art they continued collecting for many years.  They were guided by only 2 rules:  the piece had to be affordable to them and it had to be small enough to fit inside their one-bedroom Manhattan apartment.

The ‘unknown’ artists who were in later years to become very very famous became Herb and Dorothy’s close friends and they spent many nights and weekend traipsing around Soho visiting working artists and talking art.

The couple bought works directly from artists and only occasionally bought through dealers causing some ill will towards them at the time.  Dealers and some artists thought they were being exploited as the Vogel’s drove a hard bargain around what they would pay for a piece.

They amassed a collection of close to 5,000 works which eventually in 1992 was gifted to the American National Gallery of Art.  This gallery as chosen as they didn’t charge admittance fees to view works, they didn’t sell donated pieces and they wanted their art to belong to the people.  Herb and Dorothy were aligned with these values.

This film is well worth a watch for artists and art lovers/collectors alike.  The  love of Minimalist and Conceptual art -  which is so often completely misunderstood, is incredible and inspiring.

K

For those who don’t know quite how amazing he is Max Gimblett has been at the forefront of New Zealand painting for over two decades.   His work is influenced by a number of sources including Abstract Expressionism, Modernism, Eastern and Western spiritual beliefs, Jungian psychology and ancient cultures.  With all of this inspiration to draw upon it’s no wonder that the man is hugely well known and his work is so loved by the art world – especially by private collectors here in NZ.  My friend tells me that Max said he owed much of his success to a large core of investors and art lovers in NZ who have continued to support him as he has painted and shown his work througout the world.

The thing that I love about Max’s work (and that thing that drives the detractors and criticism) is the beautiful yet explosive simplicity seen in much of his work.  I saw a documentary on him once where he was in his beautiful studio in New York city (high ceilings, expanses of white painted walls, huge glass windows, young ‘wanna-be artists’ interns running around – you know…the absolute dream studio setting) and he stood in front of a huge blank canvas…he stomped his feet as if he were a matador teasing a bull with a red cape…he snorted and snuffled and then literally threw paint off the end of a large chunky brush.  There was much grunting and snorting and then a minute later – da daaaaaa!! An exquistite ‘masterpiece’.  This is his terminology for his ‘good’ work. 

I would have given anything to have been in that private gallery in Wellington last week so see the man – to breathe in his words and inspiration.

Also – one last thing -  I haven’t been around much recently.  My web site was getting attacked by so much spam that I needed to shut up shop for a bit.  But now – I’m back.

K

I’m finding it really hard to decide between exhibiting a cohesive body of work ( in a similar style/similar colour ways etc) or whether to show a more diverse collection of my work.  It’s a tricky one.

Many artists work is so obviously ‘theirs’ – from the first glimpse it’s got to be their work.  I like this .  I love the predictable and comfortable feeling of knowing whose work it is and then with a more intense viewing the thrill of seeing what subtle changes have been made.  Subtle  changes in technique or using opposing colours or a slightly altered subject matter.   This is the soul of the artist coming out of the canvas.

I think perhaps I’m finding this difficult to reconcile in my own head because I have so dramatically changed my subject matter over the past year.  I was all about continuous circles and curvaceous round shapes and now it’s all gone a little angular – but with a happy tone.  My mood has lifted and I’m into celebrating and enjoying my painting.

My work in this next show will be ‘me’ – quite obviously me,  but will be a little varied in tone and emotion.  Some of the work emanating from my heart and finger tips recently has been electric and vibrant and some more subdued and romantic.  I think my collection will be quite diverse to view.

Diversity is where it’s at for me at the moment.  I’m still finding myself…….aren’t we all.

K

The dream lives within me and then every now and then it fades…. and fades…until it nearly disappears and the flame starts flickering dangerously looking like it might expel…. and then I get a hit.  A HIT out of nowhere – it’s  completely unexpected and it jolts me  – it jolts me back into action and to feel that fire again – the fire in both my belly and in my heart -and it keeps me keeping on……

The dream of ‘living’ my artistic and creative lifestyle.  I can see it.  It’s me and my gorgeous family, my easel straining with the burden of many new ideas, surrounded by canvases and divine paints and colours and varnish and fabric and ribbons  – with my loyal collie resting by my feet.  It’s so close sometimes.

My most recent ‘hit’ was words said to me by a dear and trusted friend.  She said that  any activity that keeps you going for many hours into the night, long after everyone else has gone to bed, is obviously worthwhile pursuing and fulfils the soul.  This is me, in my kitchen, painting in the evenings after the kiddies are tucked up.  It’s me starting a new canvas when my body is bone tired and is telling me to collapse onto the sofa and watch telly.  Sometimes I do, but more often than not the fire within me keeps me going.

Thanks to those who offer kind and generous words of encouragement.

K

I am of course being a total drama queen as this story involves a crisis of very small magnitude.  I ended up ‘wearing’ a flat white coffee drunk from a poorly constructed take away paper cup which involved much cursing and swearing and a detour back to my home to get redressed in this seasons latest ‘non coffee stained’ autumn fashion.  The real issue, as is the story of my life, was based around trying to fit too many tasks into a day.

I was riding high on the feeling of having made a few significant ticks on my daily to-do list:  dog walked, school lunch boxes filled (including home baking!!), children fed and breakfast dishes cleared away,  dog despatched to doggy day-care (yes – I know!!), recycling bin out on the street (with heavy rock positioned precariously on top to stop the whole unit being blown away in the Wellington wind), children delivered to school on time, myself at work (not only on time but a few precious minutes early), email inbox sorted and cleared in record time, a quick race across town to Dixon Street to deliver latest mixed media works to photographer for shooting – which meant I would met my submission deadline for a show I was hoping to be part of…..ahhh it was all going so well…..until……..coffee drizzled (in fact it gushed) with a rapid flow rate all over my dry-clean only pants and top.  Not the slickest nor most professional look for my place of work – hence a very direct and fast journey back home to change.

The workmen who have been digging up my neighbourhood for weeks and week (with the objective of allowing us to be the first fast broadband suburb in NZ…..lucky us!) did look a little perplexed (or perhaps the look was reserved amusement) as I screamed up the street, landed my car in the garage and swiftly closed the door in an effort to shut them out of my caffeine tainted existence!  Not 3 minutes later I reversed the process and left them blinking in the dust storm created by the mud they have deposited on my street as I took off again – headed for work for the second time that day. 

Some days it just doesn’t all come together and this was one of them.  And although everything went to custard at least I got my paintings to the photographer!

K

PS. I checked the wash instructions and the pants were actually ‘do not dry-clean’ as opposed to ‘dry clean only’ – who knew?